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Building barriers rather than bridges

25 Jan 2017, 08:00 | Posted by: Paul Donovan | Tags: Paul Donovan

US President Donald Trump has reiterated in a tweet that he intends to build a wall along the Mexican border. A formal announcement is expected today. The Mexican peso fell again on the news. Information of who will pay and where the labor for construction will come from is not yet forthcoming.

Film actor and US Treasury Secretary nominee Steven Mnuchin has seemingly supported the independence of the Federal Reserve. This has been under threat from Congress (looking to change its structure), and with vacancies yet to be filled.

The German Ifo opinion poll of business confidence is due for release today. The German economy is performing relatively well, and indeed if anything there is a positive risk to German growth from the recent data flow. The German consumer seems to be weathering the increase in inflation, at least so far.

The UK offers its own business sentiment opinion poll from the CBI. Sentiment (though not necessarily reality) may be subject to the ebb and flow of the debate about exiting the EU. More substantially, the UK consumer has shown some signs of faltering as inflation has accelerated.